Blank
by YumeWaKanau
Summary: AU. Do you believe in Urban Legends? Then let me tell you the tale of two legendary, unbeatable players who shared the username [ ], but had never heard of each other. Do you believe in destiny? Then let me tell you the tale of how the two people that formed [ ] fell in love. SoraxShiro but not incest. Other pairings in future chapters. Enjoy!
1. Prologue

**Hey guys! This is my new story! Sorry it took so long to post, but I had to make this chapter two times already, because deleted it one time and my pc crashed once as well so... **

**First of all, there is no Disboard in this Alternate Universe, but Tet, Sora, Shiro and the others still exist in Sora and Shiro's world. **

**Secondly, Sora and Shiro will not meet in real life until chapter four, but they will talk a lot before that. **

**Lastly, the couple are still seven years apart in age, I wasn't sure how to make it any other way, since that will be very important to the story later on. Almost every character will make an appearance, except for the ones that have died or haven't appeared in more than one episode. Some characters that will appear have not been in the anime yet, but have been in the manga. **

**Summary: Do you believe in Urban Legends? Let me tell you the tale of two legendary, unbeatable players who shared the username [ ], but had never heard of each other. Do you believe in destiny? Then let me tell you the tale of how the two people that formed [ ] fell in love.**

* * *

Twenty-year-old Sora was positively bored with his life. Sure, he had many friends, some that he actually liked, but it wasn't enough. You didn't have to be a perverted eroge-playing game-obsessed genius like he was to realize that. Playing games all day wasn't helping, but it certainly wasn't making things worse either, not like going outside would. So he sat in his swivel chair, rubbing his inexistent beard in hope for a solution. So he scribbled down in a yellow notepad, the obviously most efficient way to resolve his issues, neatly writing the kanji, wishing upon enlightenment on his incredibly depraved (or brilliant, whichever comes first) mind. And the notepad read:

_Problem: Lack of Happiness_

_Solutions:_

_Spend time with friends (?) _

_Find suitable girl to date (none come to mind) (?)_

Next to a bunch of poor-made drawings of anime girls, none of which, sadly, existed in real life. He halfheartedly logged on his favorite MMORPG's account, checking his email first. There was an email from his thirteen-year-old niece, Izuna Hatsune, but decided to look at it later, since a new ladder tournament had begun.

"Uh… This is odd. I've never been placed second on the ladder… I usually just get first place and defeat whoever tries to go against me." Sora thought out loud as he prepared his gun and ammo for the fight.

It took him a total of five seconds to figure out something absolutely ridiculous. His username, [ ], was exactly the same as the username for the person on the first rung. He first thought it to be a glitch or a mistake, but upon further investigation found out this player had a completely different stats and their character design. While his character had spiky maroon hair and was fairly tall, just like himself, only geared out with the strongest armor and sword, while the other player, who he now assumed was a female, but doubted it slightly, since it was not a girl-like thing to do, even though he wasn't one to discriminate, was geared out too, yet in pink armor and a cannon on her right hand and a shield on the left, two bright-blue pigtails that seemed to flow along her body, as if they were floating and avoiding gravity at all costs. "_There is just no way that a girl actually looks like that!" _Sora contemplated, fighting a player that had foolishly challenged him. After he dominated a weakling who seemed to think he was actually going to reach first place. Sure, most ladder tournaments' final results did not display most players' actual skill, but he was always keen on showing others he was usually unbeatable. Sure, he had yet to lose, but without someone else to back him up he could be beaten, someday. He just hoped he lost against someone worth being deemed "the best player" and not some stupid player who used hacks.

He decided to challenge the other Blank. It was this or nothing, since he was in second place, and if he lost, could not challenge her again. The game started. He decided to go defensive, since he thought the player would attack, but he/she did not. Sora guessed they had gone for the same tactic, so decided to attack. It dodged it like it was nothing. Right then Sora understood his competitor was a force not to be messed with. Then again, so was he. The person he was against attacked. Sora avoided it with ease.

The match had been going on for exactly twelve hours, thirty-four minutes and twenty seconds. Yet both player were still at maximum health, not even fazed by each other's attacks. Sora was fighting hard, yet she didn't even get hit. However, this player's attacks on him had missed on him too. It was quite an annoying situation. So the maroon-haired college student intervened. He typed quickly in the chat box, keys being pressed forcefully as he sighed due to the pain his fingers were suffering from the speed at which he clicked and because of the dullness of the entire frustrating contest.

[ ]_ says: Let's just give it our all and not defend so much, okay? I have classes in four hours and, as much as I would love to miss them as I have for the past five months, an assignment is due, and I am being forced to go to class and explain why I haven't done that one, or the other five hundred assignments, so how about we just go for it? _

Sora had no idea why he chose to disclose that much information, but it felt natural talking to this strange player who he hadn't spoken a word to since the tournament's beginning. Upon further pondering, this might have been a bad idea. The person had already responded.

[ ]_ says: Okay. _

"_I have told this person all this information and they only respond 'okay'?!" _ The childish adult thought as he swung at the combatant. Someone was going to die soon, and his health was all but being replenished. He was near death, and he could tell they were too, since none of his attacks had missed them, and vice versa. Then it came like a flash. He had died.

And so had she.

* * *

Shiro stared incredulously at the screen lighting the otherwise completely dark room.

She'd lost.

She had never lost. Ever since an extremely friendly girl had convinced her to get out of the old bed the orphanage had provided her and play a chess game with her. She had disliked the girl yet loved the game. She had mixed feelings about playing with her after the first time, but she hadn't gotten to decide since she was adopted. So she got the chess set after the other girl left. She took it to her room and spent the next week playing against herself.

After she turned eleven she ran away. The old orphanage was slightly depressing and she was bored out of her mind. She took the money given to her as a birthday gift and packed her chess set and her two outfits and left. For good. It took her a few hours to find a cab, but when she did she decided to go to Tokyo. After she arrived at the city she was out of money and out of luck. She roamed the city for a whole day until she found an old apartment that still had furniture and had not been sold. It even had a computer that seemed quite new. She discovered games like go and shogi and gradually progressed to other games, mostly played in consoles she was yet to acquire. Yet one day she learned how to "hack". It involved extremely easy premises, only developing into a more complex principles after learning all the basics. Shiro had realized she was a genius long before coming to the orphanage, and had learned to deal with it. It was highly illegal hacking credit cards but it was no challenge to the albino child. She enrolled herself in private school, but realized it was a bad idea, since she wouldn't get to play her costly games all day. After she finally started attending classes, she deemed it as a nuisance and chose to skip most of them. It was not like she didn't already know all that was taught. She realized she was quite literally empty inside after a girl walked up to her and asked whether she actually had emotions or not. She responded affirmatively, yet she wasn't so sure of it herself. This was how she secluded herself from the world. She was all alone, or at least that was what Shiro believed. So she began playing online games. The red-eyed girl was a human calculator, she could dominate any and all in most matches that involved trajectory or a number of different outcomes, all of which she most likely knew like the back of her hand. She was not, however, that good of a strategist. Her social-anxiety had proven, yet again, to be a downfall, since she couldn't predict another player's moves easily.

Maybe that was her demise.

When she logged on to play another ladder tournament she knew she'd be on the first rung. She always was. She had yet to lose, anyways.

Then she found out something interesting. The player that was in second place had the same username, yet a completely different appearance. Shiro didn't know of anyone that had the hacking abilities to be able to leave the username blank, besides herself, but she guessed it must have not been that difficult to do. She waited for a challenger for a minute or two but when no one did she started microwaving some ramen. When she sat at her chair again she looked over the list of challengers and noticed that the other Blank had proposed a fight. She accepted the request and the match began.

About twelve and a half hours later the match finished. He had left a message in the chat, and although she had been quite surprised that the player had told her so much about him/herself. A part of her found it intriguing and wanted to know more, for some odd reason, yet the other just wanted to move this along. She was, after all, an antisocial child with a communication disorder, so she just agreed.

Then he struck, and she did as well. And it continued that way for a few seconds until…

They both died.

Then the game lagged, making the tab where it was open reboot, asking her to either sign up or log in. The albino frowns. She goes to get the ramen, now burned to a crisp. "_Time really flies when you're having fun, I guess." _The blue-haired girl thinks, eyes widening as she understands the problem she was facing. She hadn't noticed the genuinely content smile or the way that her eyes shone before, but now that she looked in the screen that showed her reflection by virtue of being turned off. "_But why is this happening?" _The young student questioned. It was not as if she had felt so strongly about and other game or player, so why did this match matter so much.

"Was it… because… I lost?" Shiro said to herself as she realized it. Was that really the reason? She definitely felt the corner of her plum mouth tug upwards as she thought about the match. Her challenger seemed nice too, but she doubted she would hear from him again, which made her scowl just a bit. She didn't get any more time to think about the previous events as a "ding" resounded from her computer, alerting her an email had been received. It couldn't be from any friend, although the thought amused her, since she only came to the school to take the tests, and even then left the moment she was finished with it. Thankfully the school was very close to her apartment, only a few apartments away, which would have been improbable had she not scouted out apartments with that advantage. Shiro has no idea who it was that sent an email to her email address, and although it is her Blank account, she doubts it's one of the players from the many games she played, because she hid her email to the public eye, making it impossible for her to know. The email was unusual by itself, but it cleared the suspicion of spam and explained the identity of the person who had sent it.

_To: kohaku _

_From: _[Blank]

_Subject: Hi!_

_Hi! I'm sorry if your browser closed like mine after the game tied, I wasn't expecting it but I guess it was my fault for suggesting we go all out. My name is Sora Nai, by the way. I was very surprised to have lost, since I had yet to do so in any game that I have participated in my short life, but I am even more surprised to be feeling so much happier since I did. So I want to thank you. I wasn't feeling too happy or confident lately, I guess I just need to lose a game. _

_Thank you so much, stranger,_

_Sora Nai AKA _[ ]

Shiro had a big grin on her face after she read the message. It was sweet of him/her to send it, something that she hadn't come across before in her social interactions. When people would feign sweetness just to be polite it made her want to barf, but the message had seemed like it came from the heart, and she was joyous. She hadn't discerned the player's gender by his name, so she typed a quick message asking them to tell her more, but erased it after reading through it. She couldn't be friends with a person she had never met, simple as that. So she sent a different text, correcting him on the fact that he hadn't lost, yet had simply tied. His response was nothing short of humorous.

_To: kohaku _

_From: _[Blank]

_Subject: …_

_You are totally right. So, I'd like to challenge you to a game of chess, if you are up for it. In case you were too shy to ask, I am a twenty year old male with a huge gaming obsession that loves playing dating simulators more than dating actual girls. I also did NOT stalk you to learn your email address, I simply hacked your account to learn of it. Terribly sorry for invading your privacy, but I have learned that you are female, or at least that you've ticked the female gender box upon registration of your account. _

_I still don't know your name, stranger, _

_Sora Nai AKA _[ ]

Shiro giggled at his response. She had been slightly bummed out that he was not her age, for some peculiar unknown reason, but had warmed up to the idea of forming a friendship with the college student. She typed in quickly her answer, accepting the offer and confirming that she was indeed of the female gender. It was the least she could do, after he told her all that information about himself. He sent her a link for a website that hosted chess matches and the game began swiftly.

She had won once already when he request a rematch. It had been the most challenging chess game she had ever played, and she had defeated a program designed to beat grandmasters, alternating between first or second to play, hundreds of times. The second time around, though, his moves had been far less predictable, and he claimed the victory. They played Go next, both winning the exact same number of times before playing matches of FPS game, usually tying, and if not quickly evening the scores, and never winning two times in a row. It was nonsensically fun and both players felt so happy and complete that they never wanted to stop. He hadn't stopped sending her messages, and even though her responses were short and to the point, something he found charming, Sora always smiled brightly whenever they arrived.

It would be absurd to say he was falling for the mysterious girl that rivaled his skills in gaming, and he would deny it with all his heart if asked, but it didn't make that fact any less true.

* * *

It was eleven in the morning when he told her with a frown that he had to go to class. Although he promised he would be back within an hour and she had bid him goodbye, both didn't want to stop playing. Sora logged off unhappily, and calmly walked out of the campus' apartments and into the first wing of the university. The maroon-haired male spotted his close friend Kurami leaving class, books and pencil case in hand. The flat-chested purple-haired girl had been an acquaintance of Sora since the beginning of high school but their unlikely friendship only started years later. Freshman year she confessed her romantic feelings for him and he downright rejected her. He had only known the girl for less than four months and had not had one conversation with her since the beginning of the year. He hadn't even gone to school half those days, since he had bought the new PlayStation 3 at the start of the fall season and had skipped half the trimester class to finish all games he had bought, so he had not befriended many of his classmates. She bared nothing but hatred for him ever since. That was until she met Feel Nilvalen in sophomore year and forgot all about Sora. Feel was a sweet girl that was slightly naïve but intelligent nonetheless. With a body with voluptuous curves and a bust the size of two melons, every guy, with the exception of Sora, wanted to date her and every girl envied her. Sora loved this type of girl in video games, and went out of his way to look for video games with a protagonist with those looks, but the real life counterpart was unappealing to him. The bubbly girl was not that smart, and intelligence was the key to winning Sora's heart, and always had been. Although Sora wasn't attracted to Feel, he could tell Kurami was. A blind man could tell how the purple-haired teen felt about the busty girl. The two were closer that Sora was close to games, and that was saying a lot. At the time, Sora wasn't even speaking to either of the girls, but he knew that both girls were falling head over heels for each other. The red-eyed teen only became friends with Kurami the following year. In their junior year, the class all Sora, Kurami and Feel were in gained a new student. Jibril Amaterasu. The pink-haired girl with yellow eyes had spent the first weeks of the year locked inside of a library, whenever she was not in class, she was reading. Not novels or mysteries, but all sorts of books. It ranged from books about anatomy to "Kamasutra for Dummies", and it didn't make any sense. Sora only understood why she read all that when he realized she was a junkie for knowledge. Jibril would ask all sorts of unrelated questions, some of which had nothing to do with the content that was being taught in the classes, to the teachers, and would literally drool whenever she learned something new.

Even if she had been interesting to figure her out, the teenage boy with a game addiction also had no attraction to Jibril, even though she had amazing curves and an ample chest, and did not try to engage in conversation with her. They did become friends, though. One evening the teenage girl had found Sora looking for a CD in the school's library. Jibril had been reading a book about bugs at the time, and decided to strike a conversation.

"Did you know insects have been around for more than three hundred and fifty million years?" She had quizzed. The teen had responded affirmatively, chatting about all that he knew about bugs. She had been astounded by his intellect. The two had been friends almost instantly, and Jibril followed Sora like a puppy. He learned that her whole family had a deep fondness for learning and owned the public library near the school. Even if she was smart she was not Sora's type, but the two were great friends nonetheless. Sora was still much smarter than the angel-like girl, but Jibril loved all the things she learned from the boy, and cared for him deeply. She had also been the solution for ending Kurami's hatred for the gamer. Jibril had become friends with Fii the last semester of junior year, and this encouraged both girls to "encourage" Kurami to become friends with Sora again. The endeavor involved trapping them in a room until she forgave him. Being the genius he was, the highschooler managed to make her forgive him without even having to apologize. They became close friends after that and, even though they were constantly bickering, they were always there for each other.

Right after high school had ended Sora had gotten a call from his estranged and filthy rich parents, who had not been living with him since they had left him all alone in their high-end loft in Tokyo at the age of fourteen, and had been sending checks every month. Not enough money for him to be considered spoiled, but certainly enough to buy the necessities and a game (or five) per month. Sora had never been close to his progenitors, so the call that came out of nowhere was abnormal. The call was about college. Sora had no intention of going, and the couple that raised him knew it, but they had offered to pay tuition and all expenses the teenage had. Sora had promised he would think about it, but had been really lying. That was until they had been in a car crash. The teen hadn't shed a tear, but had reconsidered going to college, as it was his parents' last wish.

However, the first class he had attended left him so utterly bored he decided to up and leave. Sora was then faced with a different problem. His parent's will, a contract giving Sora all their money, if he attended college. The eighteen-year-old decided it was time to con the university and the court when he found this out. He enrolled in as a technology major, and since he was an expert in all electronic-related things, the technologically-savvy adult passed each year with flying colors without actually having to attend classes, the cherry on top of the cake. He shared his room with a shallow and unintelligent football player named Ryouma Dola. The stupid jock hated all games played outside the football field and constantly bothered Sora while he was playing videogames. The only advantage to staying in the room where Ryouma inhabited was his sister, Steph. Stephanie Dola was incredibly annoying but also very sweet, when she wanted to be. She was pretty and loved to bake all sorts of sweets and pastries, something that Sora liked, since bread, although the best food to give the brain its maximum efficiency when consumed, was not that tasty. They became friends as well and, even while Steph's nagging for him to actually study were awfully irritating, the blue-eyed girl was a great friend who he respected. But he would never tell her that, Sora loved making fun of her dimwitted responses and strict personality. She was introduced to Sora's friends a week after meeting the young adult. They hadn't changed much, aside from their majors they hadn't made any big decisions or moved away. Jibril was now a history major, because she loved the subject and there was a lot to be learned in it; Kurami was a chemistry major, Feel, who had decided to take a year off from college and had gotten a job as a secretary for a big fashion company and Steph was a culinary major prodigy.

Sora decides to stop reminiscing and focuses on the girl walking beside him, whom he had stopped listening to as his mind went elsewhere.

"Look at what the cat dragged out! Finally decide to catch up to the conversation, idiot?" The purple-haired girl mocked, a joking tone displayed in her violet eyes, but already expecting a sharp comeback.

"I don't think Fii would be proud of your badmouthing, and I have her number on speed-dial, so how about you stop that quarrelling and tell me what's on your mind, because then maybe I'll be bored enough to sleep all the way through class." Sora bites back and smirks. Mentioning the blond, purple eyed beauty was the only safe way to get Kurami to cease talking.

"Nothing much, you?" The girl with a flat chest queries, mind on the girl whose name had been stated previously.

"Well, since you're so obviously interested, I met a girl." Kurami wasn't even listening as she saw Feel near the gates, waving to her. The girl besides Sora gave a quick apology and fled from the spot, running after the woman awaiting her arrival. Sora stared at the couple and decided he should probably set them up sometime soon. He noted the way they laughed joyfully and how they looked at each other, and knew he had to take action. Either that, or he really wanted Kurami off his back.

The two girls walked away from the gate and Sora lost sight of them. He looked at the petals or cherry blossom swirling around in a very romantic way and grinned. It reminded him of the girl he had met. The way her in-game characters pale skin surrounded by the pink armor that looked very pretty. He slapped himself for thinking about a fake character design that had nothing to do with real life. Sora was only allowed to think such thoughts about anime's and dating simulators' girls.

The college student turned around and looked once more at the university's gates. He saw something strange. A girl with light-blue hair and a small stature walk by, unnoticed and quite out of her element, looking uncomfortable with the amount of people around the school.

His eyes gauged at the familiar look.

* * *

Shiro had had to get some groceries, as her protein bars and rations didn't arrive until the following week. She had been terrified to go, and was slightly worried that Sora might begin to message her while she was offline, so she ran towards the grocery store a block from her house as quickly as she could. Upon getting them, she decided there was still a lot of time before he responded to her and decided to make her way home, not bothering to test her physical limits as she had done the last time. As she walked uncertainly through a swarm of people she came across the entrance to what seemed like a college. Big buildings surrounded by sakura trees, its leaves floating in the spring breeze. She felt the urge to look around. For some reason she thought _he_ might be studying here. It would be a surprising coincidence, but she knew not to believe in those. She kept walking and noticed a man with maroon, spiky hair and red eyes look straight at her, from the corner of her eyes. He seemed flabbergasted, and as she looked closer at the similarities to Sora's character, she became dumbfounded as well.

"_Is that really her?"_ "_Is that really him?" _The gamer couple though as pink petals moved with the gusts of air.


	2. By Chance

**Hi guys! I'M SO SORRY! This took way too long to post, but I was swamped this week... GOMEN! Nonetheless, here is the new chapter of Blank, and I hope it's better than the last. I know the emails might be a little obnoxious, but this is the last chapter the are in, since next chapter they finally meet! Yay! Tet will only appear later, but I'm still figuring out what to do with him. If you have any pairings that you would like to see, request them! I think I'll also add an OC, but she will be a minor character with no major love interest, unless you want to pair her with one of the characters. **

**-Marry**

**Disclaimer- I don't own NGNL or any of it's characters.**

* * *

People kept complaining that Blank was too strong in the chat, which beeped loudly, as Shiro ate her ramen, slightly irked at the sound, and logged out , using her feet. It didn't take long for Sora to congratulate her for doing such a great job with his main character. His compliments always made Shiro blush slightly, but she hadn't noticed it yet, and she thought the warmness of the room was the cause of it. She started to explain that she had been using her feet when she heard another beep. This one however, emanated from her email. She typed quickly and sent her message to Sora, as she opened the email.

_From: izunatan _

_To: shiroshiro _

_Subject: …_

_Hello. I'm not sure you know me, but I am in your class and we all had to partner up for the Easter holidays. I don't have a partner so we need to work together._

_Sorry, _

_Izuna-tan_

The albino yawned as she read the email. How boring. She didn't need to make the assignments if she aced every test, which was the case, so she hoped others wouldn't really count on her. Shiro had always thought her unreliability was her best quality. She only did the things that pleased her, much like Sora, she had found in the weeks she had chatted with him.

She had even given him her phone number, and although he had only texted her a few times, the red-eyed 'allies' realized that this was a big step for both. Shiro knew, more so than Sora, that she had never had a relationship of any kind with anyone, let alone an actual friendship. She had never trusted someone, never felt the fluttering of her stomach, never smiled with kindness. Before Sora she was alone. And now, she was…

_Happy?_

Her mind fluttered back to the time she had seen him. His red eyes seemed washed out of color, but once they landed on her, they widened and shone with surprise. Although she had always lived in colorful fantasy worlds in video games, she had never seen such a vibrant color. It all ended so swiftly, though. She remembered running. Running until her breath gave out. She had wanted to run up to him and say or do who knows what, but she felt so nervous and scared, that she just ran. She didn't run as fast as before, mostly because she was short of breath by the sight of him, but when she took note of her surroundings, besides her beating heart, which was the only sound she had heard as the wind coursed through her, she was already by her house and all alone again. His smile was the only image she wanted to see, it comforted her confused, empty heart whenever the realization that their friendship could never transgress to anything more than "pen-pals" dawned on her. She really wished she could talk to Blank's real life counterpart, but she deemed it impossible.

Shiro tried to avoid thinking about it, and was thankfully saved by the bell that resounded through her tablet and lit up the touch screen.

_From: [Blank] _

_To: kohaku _

_Subject: missed me?_

_I actually missed our email correspondence, since I can't say as much in a chat box, which doesn't make a difference since you'll just use a handful of words to describe how you feel about anything, which doesn't annoy me in the least. At all. I actually prefer actions instead of words, if you know what I mean. *Extreme wiggling of eyebrows*. You want to play another game, we can, though I'd rather do it against you than against these morons who believe we are surely cheating. If you need to go, that is totally fine… (Subtext: PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!)_

_Your most mature friend, who is a two year old at heart,_

_Sora xoxo. _

She muffled her giggles as she typed her positive response. He did always make her laugh, something she hadn't experienced before, much like the array of feelings that overcame her heart as soon as he dragged himself into her life.

She couldn't her but taste the bittersweet flavor of impossible friendship and more.

She just smiled sadly and started the game against her only friend, preferring to ignore him and shoving him out of her life but not having the emotional strength to close her heart to him.

* * *

He had known it was her the moment he had seen her eyes widen, or at least he was sure of it. She certainly wasn't tall, wasn't busty and wasn't the type of girl any guy his age would go for. Most wouldn't even take a second glance at the red-eyed child. Even so, she was still the most beautiful thing he had seen. Her light-blue hair flowed out of her tiny form. She was wearing a school uniform that barely fitted, but she looked absolutely adorable. Her red eyes looking up at him with such strong emotions, it was hard not to get lost in their depth. Her plum lips were parted, and were way too kissable for his liking, he almost felt wrong to be thinking this way about her, no matter how pure his thoughts were. But that was the problem. How pure she was. Her light-blue hair, the light-pink lips, her pale, silky-looking skin; it was all so white and pure. Except her fire-red eyes. They told her story, it seemed. Cold and emotionless for the most part, as they were when he observed her looking at the buildings ahead the path she had been treading, but as soon as she turned and saw him, they bore so many feelings. The feeling he received was electrifying, and it scared the heck out of him. The twenty-year-old had never felt this way about anyone. The rush of his beating heart, the thumping of it and the quickened pulse made it incredibly hard to concentrate. A minute that felt like an hour passed, and as soon as he decided to start moving towards her, she was gone.

And it hurt like hell.

Once he talked to her about this, though, it hurt much more. It wasn't her. She wasn't blank. Those empty yet blazing eyes didn't belong to the person he had come to think of more than a friend. The girl's porcelain skin and wild hair was etched to his mind as if to remind him of Blank and of the girl that made his life so much more bearable. It also reminded him that he was being a pervert, daydreaming about a kid. But what was he to do?

He wasn't about chase random lolis just because he found them beautiful, like a creep. He really wanted to meet mystery girl, though, and he was certain he would love her just as much. So why did imagining the other part of Blank as someone other than the blue-haired girl make him feel so sad?

He had been so sure it was her, he saw how she felt as she looked straight at him, like she, much like he thought he had, had found something she thought was lost.

Maybe he was just imagining things, but at this point, imagining things was the only thing keeping him sane. He just needed to let go of all the pain.

That escape came in the form of an email. But this time, it wasn't from Shiro. It was from Izuna-tan, his cousin, inviting him for the Easter holidays.

Just what he needed, another adorable loli, as if kami-sama hadn't punished him enough for the slightly pedophilic tendencies.

* * *

He was still desperate enough to go and get his mind off of things, in the end. Bag packed and train pass in hand, he was ready to go. As he looked scenery from inside the train, he stared at the birds chirping without a care in the soft wind that carried them away, and sighed. _Wouldn't it be great to fly? _He thought to himself as he stepped outside the carriage that had stopped only moments ago. The sun was setting, and he was reminded of the girl's eyes by the burning red ball of fire. Her eyes so blinding that you couldn't stop yourself from staring. It was becoming an unsettling habit of Sora's, to be reminded of her.

He was caught off guard by the small teen staring at him, and was even more surprised when she hugged him. He swiftly hugged her back, he had missed her and her cute cat ears. Izuna stared at him as she pulled something from her pocket. It was a leather wallet. Why is this relevant? Because it was Sora's. She stuck out her tongue and began running towards her father, Ino Hatsune, and his bride-to-be, Miko. From what he had learned by Izuna's email, the orange-haired woman in front of him was going to marry his uncle in less than a month, and he had been invited by the engaged couple to spend his holidays there, until the wedding took place, after which he would be promptly kicked out. As good of an opportunity as any, apparently.

The ride in the car was slightly boring. Ino didn't say a word, but Miko rambled on about her beliefs about some god and a war between gods. Something she had read on a book, seemingly, though he was not sure, since he really hadn't been listening. Izuna, the adorable thirteen-year-old, kept humming some tune that was bound to be stuck to his mind at a later time.

When they finally got home was when disaster began. He found twenty missed calls from Kurami, a text from Blank, and was asked by both Izuna and Miko to help with their problems, Miko's being about the wedding and Izuna's being about some assignment or whatever. He broke out of a cold sweat, acquired by the idea of actually having to _help_ people.

He attended to the missed calls first, and stepped outside the two-story house. At twilight you could barely see anything, but the outside lampposts helped slightly. His uncle's house had a very Japanese-like architecture and decoration. Ino was a wealthy man because of his tech company, which provided Sora a wide array of computer for a nice price, not that he needed the discount. He dialed the number of his purple-haired friend, as he stared out at the stars. The peaceful night was interrupted by Kurami's shrill screams, for what he wished was the last time, resounding from his phone. A mixture of "Where were you?" and "What took you so long?" was heard, but due to the high pitched screams accompanying her ever-so-fuming anger he had to try and comprehend her words.

"Kurami. Stop. What happened?" His calm, demanding tone halted her speech. She went from anger to sadness, and you could tell she was obviously inebriated.

"Sora… Fii is dating someone." Sora felt bad for the college student. She had never confessed her love for Feel to anyone, but everyone could tell. She was probably in tears.

"I'm sure, if you told her how you felt, she would dump his ass faster than Sonic." He tried. He heard an incomprehensible mumble, but ignore it.

"Look, I have to go, I am spending the holidays with my uncle." He was about to hang up and heard her scream "Since when do you have a family?" which made him click the "end call" button swiftly. Silence had never felt so good.

He tended to the text next, explaining to Blank why he had not been responding. She simply responded "Okay" and he didn't feel the need to say anymore. He finally went back to the warm house, getting riled up by the shouting erupting from the kitchen. He was really sick of blaring girls, but went to the kitchen anyways.

Ino looked at him pleadingly. Sora saw the older man cornered by the two women in his life, and being the amazing boy he was, decided to help. Ino literally ran away once the two girls turned to Sora for help.

"Sora-kun, should I have peonies or roses for my wedding?"

"Onii-sama, could you help me with my assignment?"

"Sora-kun, is red velvet a good type of cake?"

"Onii-sama, what is the difference between software and hardware?"

Despite Sora having no idea of what they were talking about, he simply gulped and nodded. The two girls began tugging at his arm from each side, arguing with each other about who should get him. Sora finally understood what it was like feeling objectified. It wasn't that nice.

After the maroon-haired adult's arms became sore, he was at Izuna's mercy. Whilst she began explaining her situation to the man, he began rubbing his upper limbs.

"I got an assignment with this girl in my class who only attends the tests which she always aces, and not any of the classes, but she won't do the work with me. I don't know what's up with her, so I need your help." He knew what it was like, not having a partner for an assignment, because he was the person who turned down any offers for assignments. This girl sounded like him. Never attended class, aces every test.

"I'm sure we can go visit her apartment next morning. I'm sure your classmate can be persuaded." The girl wearing cat ears nodded and smiled.

"Thanks Onii-sama! By the way, her name is Shiro, and you need to find her address in the school website." She hugged him briefly and hopped away.

He had a lot of work to do, but the only thing occupying his mind was the absolutely coincidental fact that the kanji for Shiro and the kanji for Sora made the kanji for…

Blank?

* * *

Next morning a maroon-haired adult and his cat-ear-wearing niece found themselves in Tokyo, by an apartment not far from Izuna's school. They were stealthy about entering the apartment, so they waited for someone to leave the building, so that they could enter it. An old lady let the two in soon after they had started waiting. They took the elevator up to the fourth floor, the two relatives sharing a look of concentration as they stepped out of it. The apartment on the left had a door mat and everything, but the one on the right was just a plain door. They knocked on the one on the left, believing that was where the girl's family lived. A woman in her fifties opened the door and flashed them a bright smile.

"What can I do for you, sweeties?" Sora felt sick by the niceness this woman was displaying, while Izuna just smiled.

"We're looking for Shiro, is she your daughter." The woman's smile disappeared in a matter of seconds as she looked annoyed at the mention of the name.

"The girl you are looking for is in the apartment behind you. She plays her stupid games all day and it is still me who has to pick up her mail. She's never even thanked me once!" Sora could tell the female was about to ramble on, so he interrupted her.

"Thanks anyway. Goodbye." He closed the door on the woman's face, and he heard a sigh from inside the door, and also a few curses to the children. Izuna snickered as the adult knocked on the apartment. Sora was intrigued with this girl, who played games and seemed to never go outside. A part of him screamed that this was the girl he had met online, but he had become skeptical. No one answers the door, so he knocks again.

The next things he sees makes his breath stop entirely. A blue-haired girl with red eyes opens the door, and it takes him less than a second to recognize her. Once she spots him her eyes are as wide as can be. The hand not grabbing the door is holding a high-tech laptop, and the apartment behind her looks like an office, several computer screens on a table with an office chair by it can be seen and a small duvet is in the corner of the room, next to several bowls of what seems like ramen. He stares right back at her sparkling eyes, the flames in them just as bright and glowing. Her cascading disheveled hair is still the same hue of blue. The pieces fit perfectly, an imaginary arrow pointing out that this girl...

...Is Blank?

_"__What the hell is going on?_" is the last thing on Sora's mind before the world turns dark.


	3. Urban Legends

**Hi guys! I'm sorry I'm late. Again. I know it's only by a day or so, but I feel bad that you don't get the chapters on the right day. Nonetheless, if this chapter feels like it's the end of the fic, be assured that it's not. There is still much to come, and this is where the plot really kicks off. I'll try to deliver next chapter on the same day as His Queen (wednesday), as an apology for the lack of chapters. The third chapter (fourth if you count the prologue) will feature Steph, Tet, and two OCs that I've created for the sake of the plot. One OC will only be featured from time to time, and the other will be an antagonist of sorts. **

**In other news I've decided to make another AU, for those of you who like them, so check it out when it comes out, tomorrow or the following day. I hope you like this chapter, 'cause the fluff is going to be scarce in the next one. **

**-Marry**

* * *

Sora found he was being shaken violently in the middle of his peaceful slumber. He groggily opened his red eyes. A black haired girl was shaking him, while a light-cerulean-haired beauty stands near him. The memories begin to flood back as he stared at his surroundings. He propelled himself upwards, and his cousin gave him space. His eyes shifted from the computers to the girl who owned them. She was looking at the floor as his gaze burned through her. He slowly turned to Izuna, careful not to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Izuna-tan, could you leave for a second?" The student had been confused ever since he had passed out, but upon seeing the look of determination on her older cousin and hearing the harsh tone in his voice, she decided to leave questioning for later. She immediately left the room in a fast pace. Sora gave her a half-smile in appreciation, but he sincerely doubted she had seen it. He'd thank her later, he needed to sort this _matter_ out.

"Now," he began, managing to get her fiery eyes locked with his, "in most situations I don't see fit to ask a person questions, especially if this is the first time we personally meet, and especially if I have just barged into your house, even though under a different pretext, just to ask you things." She looks down in shame, like she feels bad, but he isn't done making her squirm. "So you must be a very important person, and you must have a lot of questions to answer, am I right?" Shiro nods wordlessly, and he feels like this will be promising.

"So, first question!" He announces in a silly manner that almost feels intimidating, yet amusing in a socially awkward way. "Are you Blank? Wait, let me guess…" He turns to her again and walks right up to her, as if it was a big revelation. "Yes." He answers smoothly. "Are you the girl I saw near my college gate, less than a month ago?" He paused, yet she said nothing. "If you don't answer, I'll just guess again." She said nothing, but nodded very slightly. "Of course you're her, I wouldn't forget you that easily. But, you see, this is where it get complicated. Because Blank, you, told me, Sora, that the red-eyed girl, you, was not Blank. Why would you tell me that you were not you? Why would you lie?" The albino didn't dare speak, all the tears she was painfully holding were already threatening to escape.

"Was it because you were scared?"

That was it. The tears began flooding her crimson eyes, and they didn't stop. She kept nodding, trying to answer his question, but the words that were trying to come out, wouldn't. She knew he was mad, enraged, and sad. He hated her, _that_ she was sure of. That's why she was surprised when he enveloped her in a heartwarming hug. She was so confused that she stopped sobbing altogether, waiting for an explanation, even if he was the one who deserved one.

"I don't hate you. I have every right to, but I can't bring myself to hate you. I am very angry for what you did, but I'm just as happy, mostly because I'm not crazy, and that it wasn't incredibly stupid to be hung up on a twelve-year-old. So I think I might be able to forgive you, if you do me a favor." She looked at him in disbelief, while he smiled at her expectantly.

"What?" She finally quizzed. Shiro really wanted to make it up to him. She couldn't explain the thumping of her chest from his closeness, and she didn't know why his confession had made her feel so happy, but all she wanted now, was to make him happy, hopefully inciting his forgiveness in the process. Dealing with the bouts of frightening feelings could handle a rain check.

"I need you to tell me the truth." The truth? The truth was a touchy subject for Shiro, and if this was anyone else, she would have refused, but her heart wouldn't let her do anything but accept the offer. She nodded, and Sora smiled triumphantly.

"Start with the beginning, what happened to your parents?" Sora wondered aloud. Then Shiro began to tell him the tale of the lonely red-eyed girl.

* * *

Sora had listened carefully. Even when she admitted that she had never been loved before, no matter how much he wanted to tell her otherwise, he kept it to himself. He did all of this because he had yet to admit to himself what he had been denying ever since that first message she sent back. That he had fallen in love with her. It was preposterous, he couldn't love her after less than a month. But he knew how his heart had soared for her, and how it had been broken after she lied. And for once, his head and his heart were on the same page, since he had to be brainless not to realize how he felt for her. However, his brain had also caught up to the fact that she was a mere child. She was probably more mature than him, but it would still be wrong if he told her how he felt. He honestly couldn't care less what others thought, but it was him he was afraid of. She was perfectly innocent, and he couldn't ruin her, he wouldn't allow his emotions to stain her whiteness. But he also couldn't let her get away. She had captured her heart too fast, and he couldn't pull away. Even so, the shreds of decency in his soul allowed him to be able to be her friend. They left the apartments smiling, passing by a dark-haired figure. The figure noticed them, though, and ran to catch them.

"Hey, don't leave me here!" A shrieking voiced yelled. Both turned around to see an annoyed Izuna. They gave her apologetic smiles and she walked besides them. As the newfound friends talked about upcoming RPGs until the cat-ears-wearing girls mentioned something.

"When are we going to start the assignment?" the younger girl asked. Two pairs of red orbs widened, one in confusion and the other in recognition.

"Umm, we didn't really talk about that actually…" Sora admitted. The chestnut-eyed girl was dumbfounded, while the college student scratched his neck unnervingly.

"Eh?! What did you to talk about, then?" The purple-haired tween questioned. Both glanced each other knowingly, as Sora tried his best to cover it up.

"Well, we were talking about why she hasn't attended school, and I guess we just forgot." Izuna Hatsune was still unconvinced, but let it go for the time being. "Anyways, Shiro, Izuna needs a partner for her assignment. Could you please be her partner?" Shiro looks pensive, while Izuna looks hopeful, and Sora is just trying to get this out of the way so that he can be alone with Shiro.

"No. The assignment will have no impact on my straight A's." Izuna is mad at Shiro's unreliability and an irk mark is visible on her head, whilst Sora tries to calm his younger cousin. This feels very similar to Kurami's fights with every single man that Feel dates, after she gets over her depression over the blonde, that is. He can't help but feel that Shiro is the only normal person in this mad world, and maybe that's why he was so interested in her.

"Fine, then. Izuna, I'll help you with your assignment, but now we need to go. I'll be out late, don't wait up." Sora announces loudly, before he drags Shiro away. When the two are finally out of range from the temperamental highschooler, Sora sighs.

"I hate social confrontations." He deadpans, while the girl besides him finally notices their intertwined fingers. She blushes from their hand-holding, but releases her hand from his. Both don't want to let go, but don't comment.

"You seem pretty good at them." Shiro's quiet tone sounds innocent, but the malice is there. Sora is proud of her insults though, he wouldn't like anyone to dis him but Shiro.

"I'm sorry about my angry state. I was actually really happy that Blank was as pretty as you. I honestly did not expect for you to be a flawless beauty, I expected a pedophile or something." Shiro's cheeks are tinted red at this point, but the man beside her couldn't tell. She simply nodded, looking at the sun setting, surrounded by golden and pink rays of sunlight. Absorbed by this beauty she doesn't notice that his eyes are on her.

"The world we live in really is beautiful" is Shiro's comment, halting the comfortable silence between the two. He nods, still looking at her. "Its only downfall is us." She reasons, and he grabs her hand, looking ahead.

"People do whatever moves they want, they cheat, and there is no winning for any of the players. Basically, this world is just a crappy game." Sora thinks out loud. This time, it's Shiro who nods in agreement, as she has often thought about the exact same thing. "But you've got me. I won't leave your side, if you let me stay by it." He holds her hand tight. She smiles at him, and his pulse rate ceases for a moment. She looks breathtaking as the sun disappears from the view, its last glimmers illuminating her doll-like face, and lighting up her eyes, now blazing with bliss.

"I promise." The child says, and it means so much for the both of them. They won't be alone again. He will protect her and she will be there for him. This is what he wanted, so why doesn't feel completely happy?

"I promise too." He swears. They stare at the lights, illuminating the darkening skies as the busy streets of Tokyo welcome people of all ages with a warm breeze. It makes them feel like there is still beauty in people, for they built this city from scratch, but they know better than to believe in urban legends.

* * *

Sora walks her home, chatting every once in a while, in utter harmony with each other as the bright lights lead them to her home. He couldn't have imagined a better way to spend his day.

Right at her door, as he watches her get in the elevator, is when he realizes how much it hurts to let her go. He can't hold it all in, he owes her too much to blatantly lie about how he feels. He needs to confess, or he never will. As he races up the stairs so fast he is all out of breath when he reaches her floor. Sora knocks on her door, but no one answers. As he is about to leave, the elevator doors open, revealing Shiro, looking straight at him.

"I forgot to tell you something." The maroon-haired man tells the albino. She nods, a curious expression adorning her flawless features. He steps closer to her, and a light blush is placed on her cheeks. He grabs her soft, yet cold, hand and sighs.

"I forgot to tell you that I have fallen in love with you, and that I've loved you since you beat me in a game of chess. I can't believe it's taken me so long to figure it out, but…" He is interrupter by the adorable red-eyed child, whose flushed cheeks show a bright red shade to them.

"I love you too." She confesses. He looks at her, wide eyed, but smiles as his eyes portray such affection that she's taken aback. He lowers his stance until his face is adjacent to hers, and captures her lips in his. The sweet kiss is innocent but it's all that he had wanted to do ever since he met her.

He tries to control his urges as she moans into his mouth, but he deepens the kiss and hopes the sound she made won't keep him awake for days on end.

All of his worries fade as her hands wrap around his neck and he cups her soft cheeks. He knows it won't get much better than this, but he hopes they can have more moments like this, when all is wonderful and all he can her is both their incessant heartbeats.

At that moment, they both finally believes in miracles, dreams coming true, and urban legends. Because the way they met each other feel is very much like a miracle, and this moment seems taken right out of a fairytale.

And the way they fell in love? Well, that seems just like an urban legend…


End file.
